


Damages

by a1_kitkat



Category: Westlife
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, Developing Friendships, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 10:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15313581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Modern AU where Kian, Mark and Shane are in high school now (in the age of smartphones, social media and cyber bullying)Shane and Kian used to be best friends until Kian became popular and essentially a bully. Now he wants Shane to help him pull off a mean prank on shy, quiet, loner Mark.





	Damages

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea where this came from, sorry that it's not very long or very good but I seriously have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote this. Haven't even read it back from start to finish so it probably doesn't even make a lick of sense.
> 
> Again, sorry!

The sun was barely up when Shane’s phone began to buzz. He tried to ignore it, hoping whoever was calling at this insane hour would give up but the moment it stopped, it immediately started again. With eyes still closed, he groped about with his hand until he found his phone and somehow managed to answer it. His voice wasn’t even audible but the caller was able to understand him.

“Meet me before school” Kian’s voice was loud and clear, Shane wondered how he could possibly be so awake right now. Had his friend not even gone to bed?  
“I’m sleeping” Shane groaned into the phone.  
“I want you to be the first to see it” Kian sounded excited about something “trust me, it’s awesome”  
“Kian-”  
“Please? I know it’s been awhile but please meet me at our spot”

Shane made an internal sigh and nodded before vocally replying, Kian actually squealed with delight before hanging up but Shane threw the phone onto the floor and buried his head under the duvet. He awoke about twenty minutes later to his phone ringing again and he wished he’d turned it off. Mumbling to himself, he climbed out of bed and found his phone. The caller was Kian, again. Pressing the ignore button he dropped the phone on the bed then proceeded to get dressed. He sneaked down the stairs and grabbed a snack from the cupboard before writing a note for his mother to let her know he’d already left for school.

The fog was lifting as he made his way to ‘their spot’ and he tried to remember the last time he’d met Kian there. They’d been so close for so many years but several months ago the two had definitely drifted apart. Both had fallen in with different crowds at school, Kian having somehow become popular seemingly overnight and left Shane alone but the brunette had been happy to remain as something of a social outcast from fear of someone getting to close and learning his secret.  
That wasn’t to say he and Kian had ignored each other, no they still texted and emailed. Their friendship remained but was a lot less public than it had been in the past. Kian was very big on staying popular and feared being seen with Shane would tarnish that. Shane knew the best thing to do was cut all ties with Kian but he valued the years they spent together and wasn’t ready to not have Kian in his life anymore.

As he walked the path to their special, secret spot, he could see Kian was already there. The blonde was pacing back and forth while acting rather giddy. Shane was very curious to see what had brought this on for Kian wasn’t one to show many emotions, ever. As soon as he spotted Shane, Kian’s demeanour immediately changed and he became his usual self but with a glint in his eye.

“I’m so glad you came!” Kian cried with delight “I need a favour”  
“What kind of favour?” Shane asked.  
“I need to borrow your phone”  
“What’s wrong with yours?”  
“I want to post something online but don’t want it traced back to me”  
“So you want it traced to me?”  
“No one will ever believe it was you, you’re too… too…”  
“Too what?”

He should’ve known Kian had an ulterior motive for wanting to meet him, Kian always wanted more and more. Shane jammed his hands into his pockets and held his phone firmly out of Kian’s reach.

“You’re too much of a goody-goody” Kian told him.  
“So what you’re planning to do isn’t on the up and up then?” Shane asked.  
“Of course not” Kian said with a grin “but it’s going to be amazing! Best prank ever!”  
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that”  
“Oh come on, Shane; just give me your damn phone”  
“Not until you tell me what’s going on”

Kian groaned and folded his arms across his chest.  
“I don’t have time for this!” he insisted “it has to be before school!”  
“Tell me what you’re planning to do”

The blonde walked over to the fallen tree and sank down in a huff.  
“You know that freak in our class, Feehily?” Kian asked him.  
Shane felt his heart skip a beat. Mark was more of a social outcast than Shane; he was very quiet and kept to himself. He was soft spoken, a loner and a dreamer. Shane had gotten to know him a tiny bit during a class project the previous year. It was during that time that Shane had fallen in love with the shy lad… his secret that he never wanted Kian to learn.  
“Feehily… You mean… Mark?” Shane tried to play dumb.  
“Yeah, Freaky Feehily” Kian continued “I’m going to make him the talk of the school”

Again, Shane’s heart skipped a beat before leaping into his throat. He couldn’t speak as fear and dread ran up and down his spine.

“How?” he tried to keep his voice calm and collected.  
“He’s a fag” Kian announced with a mix of revulsion and glee in his tone. Shane felt like someone had dropped ice down his back. Mark was gay? How did Kian possibly know that?  
“He’s… he’s a…” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word.  
“He’s a dick sucking queer”  
“How could you possibly know that?”

Kian indicated for Shane to come and sit beside him which he did. Once seated next to Kian, the blonde slid his arm around his friend’s shoulder as he began to talk.  
“It was a lot easier than you’d think” Kian confessed, believing he was about to regal Shane with an amazing tale “last semester, my dad dragged me to some big party thing and Feehily’s parents were there too so I figured he was hiding somewhere but I stole a bottle of scotch and sneaked out back to drink it and that was where I found him… He’d had the same idea and was knocking back a bottle of his own… Fuck, he was wasted and he was crying… the lad was crying like a baby if you can believe it”  
Shane tried to picture it and the image broke his heart. He could see the tears in those deep, mesmerising eyes and almost had to blink back tears of his own.  
“What was he crying about?” Shane’s heart was still breaking at the thought.  
“He’d met someone online and they were really into each other but the kid lived in Dublin so Feehily’d bought himself a bus ticket and gone all the way down there to meet him. Turned out it wasn’t some kid, it was this old pedo who tried to feel him up and he came running straight back home. Said he’d cried the entire bus trip home” 

Shane was glad he was sitting beside Kian so his friend couldn’t see the look on his face. The idea of something like that happening to someone as sweet, shy and innocent as Mark was just horrifying. A part of him wanted to leave Kian on the tree and run to Mark’s house but this traumatizing thing had happened to him a few months ago, Shane didn’t want to dredge it all up for him again.

“So he was drunk and I was bored” Kian continued “I told him all kinds of crap that he wanted to hear and he stopped crying. So I started feeding all this crap to him about how I understood what he was going through and how hard it must have been for him but that he wasn’t alone and that if he ever needed to talk, I’d listen… and the freak believed me”  
“Kian, where are you going with this story?”  
“He and I have been secret friends for a while now and I told him I was gay”  
“You what?” Shane exclaimed in shock.  
“Wait for it, I’m getting to the good bit” Kian’s eyes were alight “last night, I got him to suck my dick” he pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to Shane “and I got it on video”

Shane felt like he was going to be sick as Kian opened the video file and pressed play. Kian had obviously been standing over him and Shane watched as Mark feasted on Kian’s cock. His beautiful lips worked the organ while his eyes twinkled with a fire he’d never seen before. Shane wanted to stop watching but his eyes were transfixed as he tried not to think about Mark sucking him off like that. The video ended with Kian coming all over Mark’s face but the gut wrenching part was the way Mark smiled and said ‘I love you’ right before the video cut off.

“Kian” Shane didn’t know what to say.  
“I’m not really gay, Shane” Kian assured him “I mean do you have any idea how hard it is to convince a girl to suck you off? But Mark was desperate to taste my dick. Besides, it’s not gay to get a blowjob from a lad”  
“Kian, why are you telling me this? Why are you showing me this?”  
“Because I’m going to post it online and show everyone what Freaky Feehily’s been hiding”  
“You can’t be serious”  
“Hey, he’ll have lads lined up around the block wanting blowjobs”  
“That’s not how it works, Ki! He’ll be the laughing stock of the whole school, probably the entire town”  
“He already is! This’ll just make him way more popular”  
“No, it won’t. Kian, you can’t do this. It will destroy him. You earned his trust and now you’re just going to betray him?”  
“It’s not my fault he was dumb enough to believe the bullshit I fed him”  
“Kian, please? I’m begging you, don’t do this to him”  
“Why do you even care? You’re not friends with the freak, are you?”  
“What? No, I… I barely know him but that shouldn’t matter. You don’t do shit like that to people, Ki”  
“What happened to you, Shane? You used to be fun; you used to have a sense of humour”  
“There’s nothing humorous about destroying someone’s life”  
“You’re being way too over dramatic, Shay”

Kian held is phone up; suddenly fearing Shane wasn’t going to help him pull this off. Shane immediately made a grab for his friend’s phone but Kian was quicker and sidestepped him. For a moment they just stared at each other, both surprised by the other’s actions.

“Please, Kian?” Shane begged. “Please don’t do this to him”  
“Oh Shane, don’t tell me… You’re not a fag too, are you?” Kian asked “is that why you’re so against this? Afraid someone will learn the truth about you too”  
“Kian, you were my best friend but I don’t think I like what you’ve become”  
“And what’s that? Popular?”  
“An asshole”

With those words lingering in the air, Shane turned on his heel and started to walk away from Kian. The blonde lunged at him and they both tumbled to the ground, both punching and kicking at each other. Shane’s foot hit Kian’s knee while Kian’s elbow connected with Shane’s nose and their fight was over before it could really begin.  
Blood was seeping down Shane’s face as he watched Kian get to his feet and limp away from him. Using his sleeve, he tried to stop the bleeding as he stood up then turned in the opposite direction and immediately started running towards Mark’s house.

*

He feared he wasn’t going to make it in time. Shane was rounding the corner when he spotted Mark up ahead of him. He wasn’t an athlete, wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten this far without keeling over yet. Seeing Mark was what spurred him on, gave him the extra boost of energy. He ran with all he hand in him and threw himself after the brunette. He stumbled and the two went crashing to the ground.

Mark was caught completely off guard, his headphone slipped from his ears and he looked up to see his classmate on the ground beside him with blood oozing down his face.

“Shane?” Mark gasped “What… Are you okay?”  
“I’m sorry” Shane panted “Sorry”

His sides were aching and he could taste the blood from his nose as he panted. When Mark offered his hand, Shane accepted it then he followed as Mark led him back to his house. Shane was still struggling to breathe as Mark sat him down at the kitchen table then brought him some ice and tissues for his nose. He tried to smile his appreciation but feared he was simply scaring Mark.

“Uh” Mark stammered “can I uh get you something else? A drink maybe?”  
“No” Shane was still panting “thank you”  
“Did uh did that happen when you crashed into me?”  
“No”  
“Did you fall before?”  
“No”  
“How did it… are you prone to nosebleeds?”  
“No”  
“Then… I’m sorry, Shane but why are you here?”

Shane felt tears forming in his eyes as he stared into the beautiful yet confused eyes of his fellow student. Mark was such a sweet lad, he didn’t deserve any of this but Shane knew it was inevitable. There was nothing to stop Kian from posting the video so Shane wanted to warn Mark of what was to come.

“I’m sorry, Mark” Shane hastened to explain “I’m so, so sorry”  
“Why are you apologizing?” Mark asked, confused.  
“I know about you and Kian”  
He watched as the color drained from Mark’s face and the brunette sank into the chair opposite him.  
“What about me and Kian?” Mark tried to remain calm.  
“I’m sorry, Mark but Kian was playing you all along”  
“What do you mean?”

Shane put the ice pack aside and looked into Mark’s eyes which were slowly brimming with tears.  
“Kian’s not gay” Shane explained, his stomach was in knots as he spoke. Mark averted his eyes. “He was using you all along because he planned to out you to the entire school”  
“No-”  
“He showed me the video he took of you last night”  
“The… Video?”  
“You had to’ve known he was filming you, you were looking right at the camera!”  
“He told me he was texting someone”  
“He told you he was texting while you were sucking his dick?”

Mark stood up and turned his back to Shane, not wanting him to see him crying.  
“So why are you here?” Mark asked behind his sobs “hoping I’ll suck you too?”  
“I’m here because he’s going to post the video online” Shane admitted “he wanted me to post it for him from my phone so it couldn’t be traced to him”  
“So what, you just came here to see my humiliation for yourself?”  
“I’m here to warn you so you’re not blindsided when the video gets out”  
“He wouldn’t do that to me… He’s not like that… That arrogant façade is just an act, deep down he’s really sweet and he cares about me. For months we’ve been meeting in secret because his friends wouldn’t understand-”  
“No, Mark, don’t you understand, those were the lies. Kian thrives on being popular and feeds off others misery. He gets off on manipulating people”  
“You’re just jealous” Mark said as he turned around. The tears were gone and there was anger in his eyes.  
“Jealous?”  
“Because you and him, you used to be friends until he became popular. You don’t know the real Kian”  
“I do know the real Kian, that’s the problem!”  
“I think you should go”

Mark nodded towards the door. Shane, feeling he was fighting a losing battle, got up and started to leave but stopped in the doorway.  
“I don’t want to see you get hurt” Shane confessed “but believe me, Kian will hurt you, sooner rather than later… and you don’t deserve that. You’re one of the sweetest lads I’ve ever met. Sure, we don’t know each other that well but I know that you volunteer twice a week at the nearby shelter, that you eat the same thing for lunch every day except on Mondays and that you sit under the same tree in the same park every Saturday afternoon and read a Harry Potter novel and that you don’t always read them in order. You tell anyone who asks that your best subject is Math but I know it’s English because you’re always the first one in the class to finish the assigned book”  
“How the fuck do you know all that about me?”  
“Because I’ve had a crush on you since the middle of last year and have been waiting to build up the courage to admit, out loud, that I’m gay”  
“Shane-”  
“I swear, I’ve never told another person that and I’m sorry to have it come out like this but at least now you know that I didn’t come here to see you get hurt. I’m here because I thought that if Kian did what he was threatening to do, you’d need a friend”

As Shane reached for the handle, preparing to open the front door and leave Mark alone, both his phone and Mark’s beeped. Shane reached into his pocket and saw the video he’d just received along with the accompanying text ‘Faggot Feehily sucks huge cock’. He snorted at Kian’s assumption that his dick was huge then turned around to look at Mark who was clutching his phone as he sank to the floor with tears in his eyes.  
Shane hurried back to the brunette’s side and sat down on the floor beside him. He took the phone from Mark as more texts began to appear and he switched it off then he wrapped his arm around Mark’s shoulder and held him as he cried.

“I’m sorry, Mark” Shane whispered “but I swear, I’m your friend and I’m here for you for as long as you need me”

Mark turned in Shane’s arms and wrapped his own around him. They held each other close as Mark sobbed and Shane resisted the urge to call up Kian and tell him what he really thought of him but it was hard to truly hate Kian when his awful actions had brought Mark to the one place Shane wanted him to be, in his arms.

Neither of them went to school. Shane stayed by Mark’s side the entire day. They didn’t talk much, didn’t really do anything except keep each other company. Being such a small town, by the time Mark’s parents got home from work both were aware of the video and had already been in touch with the local police in order to press charges but Mark refused to give up Kian’s name to anyone who asked.  
Shane was more surprised than anything by how calm Mark’s parents were about the entire thing until he realized they’d already known their son was gay. Their anger was out of concern for his wellbeing and Shane vowed to never speak to Kian again for putting someone like Mark through such an ordeal.

When Shane finally left Mark’s house, he no longer had a simple crush on the brunette, he was head over heels in love with him. As he walked along the deserted street, he wished for a way to make this all go away, wished he’d fought harder to get the phone from Kian. As he walked up the front drive to his home, he spotted a single figure on the front step and paused when he realized who it was.

“Go away, Kian” Shane shouted “I never want to see you anywhere near here ever again”  
Kian got to his feet and started towards Shane. His wrist was in a sling and he had a black eye.  
“What the hell happened to you?” Shane asked him.  
“Turns out it is gay to get a blowjob from a lad” Kian confessed.  
“You mean your stuck up, popular jerk friends turned on you?”  
“Yeah, they did”  
“Good, you deserved it”  
“You weren’t at school today” Kian stated.  
“I was at Mark’s, making sure he was okay” Shane told him. “Told him us faggots have to stick together”  
“I’m sorry, Shane”  
“You’re sorry you got beat up, you’re not sorry for what you did to him”  
“He was pretty good at sucking cock” Kian said “maybe one day he’ll suck yours”

Shane didn’t hesitate as he threw a punch at Kian. It wasn’t as hard as he would’ve liked but it got his point across. His former friend didn’t linger after that and immediately left. Shane made his way inside, sneaked past his parents and up to his bedroom where he plugged his dead phone in. A few minutes later, it switched on as the battery started to charge and he saw a message on the screen from Mark.

‘Thank you for being there for me today. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you in the first place. You’re a better friend than I’d ever deserve’  
‘I’m always going to be here for you, Mark, no matter what’ Shane was quick to type back.  
‘Would you… walk me to school in the morning?’  
‘Absolutely, it’s a plan’  
‘Why don’t we call it a date?’

Shane’s heart skipped a beat as he lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He still felt sick at what Kian had done but the prospect of walking to school with Mark excited him. Sure it wasn’t going to be easy for them once they reached school but Shane was going to be by Mark’s side every step of the way.  
They had a long way to go before Mark would learn to trust anyone after Kian’s manipulation but Shane was determine to prove to Mark that he was the real deal and would never do anything like Kian had done. Shane would earn Mark’s trust and his heart, no matter how long he had to wait because Mark was definitely worth waiting for.


End file.
